Mud Balls and Sleepovers
by DigiExpert
Summary: A Simoun Kindergarten Special. Aaeru decides she wants to have Neviril over to stay so that she can show her what playing mud balls is really all about. Will Halconf let his daughter go stay with the country girl?


**This story is strange. I can't remember who got me started on the idea, but I think it was silverzephyr13. I'm not quite sure. Aaeru's mentioned mud balls in one of the more recent drabbles and Neviril had no idea what she was talking about. That drabble hasn't been posted here yet, but it's not necessary to know before reading this. So I decided to do a fic about it and it turned out to be quite interesting. It's written in the simple style of SK, just 's near 3000 words, so just think of it like a series of 6 drabbles or so XD**

**Before you go any further, it is recommended that you have an idea of what the Simoun Kindergarten drabbles are about. You'll understand why the characters and style are written as they are here if you do.**

Aaeru leaned closer to Neviril as she began packing her book bag with the things she would need to take home for the evening. "Come on. Please see if you can come over! We can have fun! And play mud balls!" She grinned, knowing nothing was more fun than that.

"I don't know, Aaeru. I'm not sure if my father would let me."

"Can't you just ask?" Aaeru was quite persistent. It had taken her nearly all year to get Neviril to talk to her like this. She really wanted to have her friend over to her house to play with. School was all right, but you couldn't play mud balls on the playground. Aaeru had tried that before, with bad results.

"Aaeru, your grandpa's here to pick you up," called the teacher from the doorway.

Aaeru turned to look at the teacher, frowning. She would have to leave before Neviril, which would mean she couldn't stay to find out if she would ask her father or not. Aaeru was certain she couldn't wait to find out.

"Aaeru, he's waiting," called the teacher, a bit more impatient this time.

"Coming!" she called. "Just ask and tell me tomorrow, okay?"

"All right," agreed Neviril.

Aaeru turned and ran for the door. Neviril watched as she gave him a big hug and she could tell Aaeru was telling him about her day. She went back to packing up her bag, carefully placing her teddy bear inside that she'd brought with her that day. All that was left to do was to carefully zip it up and she would be ready when her father arrived. He never liked for her to take too long to get ready.

"Hey grandpa, can Neviril come over and stay one night?"

"You mean the pink haired girl in your class?"

"Yeah. She's my friend. And she's never played mud balls. Her father won't let her. I want to play mud balls with her. Hey there's her father now! We could ask him!"

Aaeru's grandpa looked up, and he immediately realized who Aaeru was referring to. He had no idea that the friend she spoke so highly of was the Vice Chairman's daughter. This was going to be more difficult than he expected, and he didn't want to break his granddaughter's heart. He knew she would never understand the differences between social classes, or why Neviril's life was so different than her own. He knew exactly why the girl wasn't allowed to make mud balls.

"Excuse me, Vice Chairman," he called as they passed in the hallway.

"Yes?" Halconf turned to the older man, regarding him politely, as was expected in social conversation.

"My granddaughter, Aaeru, was wondering if Neviril would be allowed to stay over one night sometime."

Halconf looked down at the excited blonde child by his side. "Oh, so this is the girl my daughter has spoken of." He knew his daughter was kind to her classmates, but he wasn't sure if he wanted her to be _this_ kind. "I'll have to think about it," he stated finally.

"Please let her come. She'll have a lot of fun," added Aaeru.

"Aaeru, quiet for a moment please," interrupted her grandpa.

"As I said, I'll think about it. I'll have to let you know."

Aaeru made a face, but her grandpa patted the top of her head. "That sounds fine," he answered.

Halconf continued toward the classroom and Aaeru and her grandpa headed for the main doors of the school. "But grandpa," complained Aaeru. "I don't wanna wait."

"Aaeru, those who have patience receive great blessings."

"And I don't know what that means."

It was many days before Aaeru got her answer. Every day she would ask Neviril if her father had told her yes or no yet, and each day she always heard no. Finally, on Thursday of that week, Neviril told Aaeru that her father had agreed to let her stay overnight. He would speak to her grandpa after school to tell him.

On Friday, Neviril showed up to school with an extra bag and a note for the teacher. Aaeru grinned, and stayed by her side all day. She chattered about the things they would do at her house, and the fun they would have. She was pleased that she could finally show Neviril what it was like to play in the mud and feel it all squishy between her fingers. It was very hard for Aaeru to sit still that day, much to the teacher's chagrin.

"Ready?" asked Aaeru as Neviril pulled both bags from her cubby. "Grandpa will be here soon. Then we can go home and play."

"What are we going to play?" asked Neviril, curious.

"Mud balls of course! Cause you've never played it before. Grandpa already said we could too." Aaeru continued to ramble on about mud balls and what they were good for.

Neviril, in the mean time, looked down at her outfit. She was wearing her favorite purple dress. She wasn't supposed to get it dirty. She knew her father would be angry if she had muddy clothes. All she had with her was a pair of pajamas and her clothes for the next day- another frilly dress. She didn't know how to tell Aaeru that she didn't have the right clothes to play in. Aaeru didn't notice the look on Neviril's face as she spoke.

"Aaeru, your grandpa is here to pick you and Neviril up," called the teacher from the doorway.

"Come on, Neviril!" called Aaeru, taking her hand. It was all Neviril could do to hold onto her bag and stay upright.

The walk home was noisy. Aaeru spoke to her grandpa about her day as she held Neviril's hand. Neviril would answer when spoken to, but she was still nervous about what she would tell Aaeru about her clothes. She was still worried she would be in trouble if she had muddy clothes when her father picked her up the next day. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe she shouldn't have come.

"Neviril? Hey, Neviril!" called Aaeru, waving her hand in front of the girl's face.

"Huh?" asked Neviril.

"We're here! See, that's my house up there!" Aaeru pointed to a large wooden ranch style house. It had a large wraparound porch and sat next to a large wooden shed.

"You live here?" asked Neviril.

"I just said that!" answered Aaeru, hands on her hips.

"Aaeru, why don't you take Neviril to your room so she can put her things away. Then you two can go play," suggested her grandpa.

"Okay! We can play mud balls, right?"

"Of course. Just make sure you have on clothes you can get dirty in."

His words were lost on Aaeru as she pulled Neviril along, running toward the house. Her grandpa didn't run after them, walking along at a slower pace. He would make dinner for the girls while they played, and prepare bath water for they would surely need to clean off after what Aaeru planned.

"You can put your stuff anywhere. It's okay," said Aaeru as they entered her room.

Neviril noticed how simple it was compared to her own room. The walls were bare except for a picture of a flock of birds. Aaeru's bed was made up, and on the nightstand was a small round box. Neviril recalled this being the music box that Aaeru had brought to show and tell once before. A large wooden trunk sat at the end of the bed, and a dresser was against one wall. There wasn't anything frilly or fancy. It was plain and simple. She placed her bags in a neat pile by Aaeru's bed.

As she turned around, she noticed that Aaeru had already stripped off her school clothing and was searching through her dresser drawers for play clothing. Neviril turned away, embarrassed. Aaeru shouldn't be doing that, or at least, she should have told Neviril so she could turn around.

"Aren't you going to change?" asked Aaeru.

Neviril turned her head. "I…I don't… I don't have anything to play in."

"You can play in that dress then. It'll be okay."

"I can't! Father won't be happy if I get this dirty."

Aaeru scrunched up her face, trying to figure out a plan. She then ran from the room. "Grandpa!" she shouted.

Neviril felt like crying. She couldn't play and now Aaeru was surely telling her grandpa about it and that she needed to go home. She wiped at her eyes, only to find that she was crying. She heard the running of footsteps and quickly rubbed at her eyes so Aaeru wouldn't see.

"Neviril, grandpa said—" Aaeru froze as she looked at her friend. "Why are you crying?"

"Cause I can't play. You're going to make me go home, aren't you?"

"No, grandpa—"

"You're going to borrow some of Aaeru's clothes," interrupted her grandpa kindly. "You look like you'll fit some of the shirts and skirts that are too big for her. We're not going to send you home though." He smiled softly at her.

Neviril looked up, sniffling. "Really?"

"Of course. I know your father wouldn't be very happy if you got such a nice dress dirty, would he?"

She nodded. "Father wouldn't want me to get it dirty at all."

"Yes, that's what I think too." He handed Neviril an orange shirt and a khaki skirt. "These should work."

"Don't cry, Neviril," said Aaeru. "You don't have to cry. We're going to have fun!" As she spoke, her grandpa left the room. Aaeru waited expectantly for her to change. Neviril only looked at the ground. "Why aren't you changing?" asked Aaeru.

"It's not right to change when someone else is in the room," answered Neviril softly.

"Huh?"

"You're not supposed to change in front of others. It's not polite."

"Oh…"

"Can you please leave the room so I can change?"

"Okay," remarked Aaeru. She turned and headed toward the door. "Tell me when you're done."

Neviril waited until she closed the door behind her. She carefully removed her dress and slip, as well as her socks and shoes. She pulled on the clothing that Aaeru's grandpa had given her. It fit her. She looked down at herself. She'd never worn clothing like this before. All she had ever worn was elaborate dresses. She walked to the door and pulled it open.

"Hey, you look like me!" giggled Aaeru.

Looking down at herself, Neviril got the joke. She laughed. "I do."

"Come on, let's go. I know where we can find squishy mud!" said Aaeru, taking hold of Neviril's hand.

"Wait, what about my shoes?" asked Neviril, looking back toward the bedroom.

"You don't need shoes! They only get stuck. Besides, the mud tickles between your toes." She didn't let Neviril protest any further as she pulled her outside. Aaeru led her behind the house, where Neviril glimpsed a large puddle of mud. Nearby rested a water hose.

Aaeru ran forward, jumping into the puddle. Mud spattered everywhere, and Neviril felt it spatter onto her shirt. She looked down in surprise. "Come on, Neviril!"

"I… I don't think so…" she called, faltering. She wasn't so sure now if this was a good idea.

"But it's more fun in the mud," replied Aaeru. She picked up a handful. "Come on, you can make it into mud balls!"

"I'll…I'll just watch."

Frowning, Aaeru stepped out of the puddle and headed for Neviril. Neviril stepped backwards, trying to avoid the girl. Aaeru quickly latched on to her hand. Neviril though she was going to pull her, just like she had before, but Aaeru simply held her hand instead. "We'll go together, okay?"

Neviril nodded. "Okay."

Together, they walked into the puddle. Neviril made a face as her feet sank into the mud and she felt the cool goop against her skin and between her toes. She'd never felt anything like it before. She sort of liked it, she decided.

Aaeru let go of Neviril's hand and picked up some of the mud. She placed it into Neviril's hands. "See? It's not so bad. All you gotta do is make a ball out of that, and then you have a mud ball." She picked up another handful and demonstrated.

Neviril copied her actions. "But it doesn't look like a ball very much."

"Well that's okay. It doesn't need to look like one all the way."

"Why?" asked Neviril.

Aaeru's answer was to throw the ball at her. It hit her on the side of her arm. "That's why!" She giggled.

"Aaeru! Why did you throw that at me?" Neviril didn't know if she was to be shocked or surprised.

"Cause that's what you do! You throw mud balls at people and get them all dirty and stuff."

"I see…" Neviril looked down at the mud in her hands, which slipped around between her fingers. All at once, she took the ball and tossed it. Her hands flew to her mouth as she saw it hit Aaeru in the side of the head. At the same time, she realized her own hands were muddy. She wiped her mouth with the non-muddy part of her arm, trying to get rid of what had gotten in her mouth.

Giggling, Aaeru shouted, "That was a good one! See, you can play mud balls too!" She picked up more mud and tossed it at Neviril, smacking it against her legs.

Soon the two girls were lost in retaliating against each other. They flung mud balls back and forth, hitting their targets. Neviril forgot all about not getting dirty and finally let herself just have fun. She had good aim, and found it easy to hit Aaeru with mud balls no matter how she dodged.

"You can't get me!" squealed Aaeru, moving to the right. In the process, she slipped and fell on her behind. She giggled.

Neviril took a handful of mud and dumped it over Aaeru's head while she still sat on the ground. Aaeru kept spitting, trying to get all the mud that kept rolling into her mouth. Neviril laughed at her until Aaeru grabbed her hand and pulled her down into the pile too. Surprised, Neviril wasn't ready to retaliate when Aaeru dumped mud on her head. They continued back and forth, until each of them was thoroughly covered in mud from head to toe. By the time Aaeru's grandpa came to get them to wash up for dinner, he could only tell the two apart by the flecks of yellow and pink hair that showed through.

That night, long after their baths and dinner, they lay side by side in Aaeru's bed as the moon streamed through the window. They'd been put to bed a couple of hours ago, but neither girl could sleep just yet.

"So do you like mud balls?" asked Aaeru, whispering softly.

"It's fun. I liked getting dirty like that."

"You should come over more. We can always play mud balls then!" Aaeru's voice was a bit louder this time, and Neviril shushed her.

"Shh! Your grandpa is sleeping!"

Aaeru lowered her voice. "Sorry."

"Is playing mud balls always like that?" asked Neviril.

"Huh?"

"Is that how you play all the time?"

"Yeah! Grandpa and I always do that. Sometimes it's just me. You know what though?"

"What?"

"I like playing mud balls with you best."

"I like playing with you too, Aaeru."

It was early afternoon when Halconf came to pick his daughter up. Aaeru and Neviril were just finishing lunch as Aaeru's grandpa opened the door for him. "Vice Chairman, it's nice to see you. Neviril's almost finished lunch."

"Was she well behaved?" he asked as they headed toward the kitchen.

"She was no trouble. She and Aaeru got along fine."

Neviril slipped down from the table when she saw her father walk into the room. She had dressed in her own clothing that morning, a dark blue velvet dress. "Father!" she called, hugging his knee.

"Are you ready to go?"

Neviril nodded. "Yes, father. I'll go get my bags." She returned shortly with her book bag and overnight bag.

"What do you say to Aaeru and her grandfather?"

"Thank you for having me over to stay. I had a wonderful time." Neviril curtsied.

"Bye Neviril! See you in school on Monday!" called Aaeru.

"Did you have fun?" asked Halconf when they were on the road. He wanted to make sure his daughter spoke truthfully.

"Yes. We played a lot. Aaeru showed me how to play mud balls."

"Mud balls? You played in the mud? Did you get your clothing dirty?" His voice became sterner.

"No, father. I borrowed some of Aaeru's clothes so I didn't get mine dirty. I took a bath before dinner so I was clean too."

"Ah, that is good then. As long as you had fun."

"I did." She was quite for a few moments. "Father?"

"Yes, Neviril?"

"Can Aaeru come over to stay with me?"

Halconf sighed. He wasn't sure he wanted to have the country girl over to the mansion. He felt uneasy about letting her play with Neviril once more. "We'll see, Neviril. We'll see."


End file.
